Aviator&#39;s belt or the like



April 2, 1946. l. R. vERsoY ET AL AVIATORS BELT OR THE LIKE Filed NOV. l, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l April 2, 1946- l. R. vl-:RsoY E-r AL AVIATORS BELT OR THE LIKE l Filed Nov. l, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 37!! in: 22.516315. WU

5 Sheets-SheefI 5 .ff/.f l. \V\\V W.

l. R. VERSOY ET AL AVIATORS BELT 0R THE LIKE Filed NOV. l. 1940 .Apr-i12, 1946 i Patented Apr. 2, 1946 AVIATORS BELT R THE LIKE Irving R. Versoy, New rHaven,

and Lester H.

Loell'el, West Haven, Conn., assignors, by menne assignments, vto The Berger Brothers Company,

New Haven,

Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application November 1, 1940, Serial No. 363,892

(Cl. 128-96l 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a belt or protective garment designed for aviators, but it is not necessarily conned to such use, as the constructional features may be advantageously employed in garments or belts suitable for other uses.

In the operation of an airplane it often occurs that the movements of the plane place an abnormal strain on the joinrts and muscles attached to the spine. This is particularly true when a plane is going at high speed and its direction of motion is suddenly changed, such as occurs in dive-bombing, for example, in which operation the aviator plunges almost vertically downward at a high rate of speed and then rights his plane at the bottom of the dive, or even turns it upwardly to start another climb. The centrifugal force caused `by high speed with sudden changes in direction aiects the balance of bodily functions, due to the inability of the vascular system to mainltain the proper distribution of blood to the various organs. A sudden change of direction while going at high speed tends to displace the internal organs with their large supply of blood, producing ill eiects of various kinds.

One object of the invention is the provision of a belt or protective garment for aviators, which will serve to support and conilne various portions of the body of the aviator to prevent the ill effects attendant upon airplane operation.

Another object of :the invention is the pro-' vision of a protective garment or belt for aviators which is constructed particularly to protect and support the abdomen and adjacent portions of the body of the aviator which are not protected by the bony structure of the skeleton.

IAnother object of the invention is the provision of a protective garment or belt for aviators which is constructed to support the spine over a broad area above and below the top of the hip bone.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a garment of the character described which will have provision for adjusting the various parts of the garment about the body of the aviator independently of each other. For this purpose the garment is in the form oi' a belt having a plurality of tabs or the like, certain ones of which may be placed under tension independently of the others, so that the desired tension can be given the belt at one part of the body independently of that given the belt at an adjacent part of the body.

A still further object oi the invention is the provision of a belt or protective garment for f aviators provided with a bladder or air cushion so constructed as to give controlled pressure over predetermined areas of the .'body, and so arranged that the thickness of the bladder may be greater at one portion than another, so that one portion lof the body is protected by a greater amount of air, or, in other words, by a thicker air cushion, than another.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In 'the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a belt or garment embodying our invention, the belt being shown in the position in which it is designed to be worn;

Fig. 2 is a front or outside view of the belt showing both front and back portions or panels thereof Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged front or outside elevational view of the front panel or section of the garment;

Fig. 5 is a rear or inside view of the front panel of the garment on a reduced scale;

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of the bladder detached from the garment;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on line 1-'I of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on line 8 8 of Fig. 6.

To illustrate a preferred embodiment of our invention we have shown a portion of the human 'body at I0, to which is applied the improved protective garment. A portion of the bony structure or skeleton of the body is shown at iI in order to illustrate the approximate position of the garment or bel't upon the body with relation to the bones of the skeleton.

As shown in Fig. 2, the garment consists of a front section I2 and a rear panel or section I3, (both preferably being 'of inelastic material) the latter being provided with vertically disposed substantially parallel stiiening stays I4 extending substantially from top to bottom thereof and also provided with a series of tabs l5 connectedv to the outer stays Il and projecting outwardly from the panel I3 to pass partially around the sides oi the wearer. On the outside of the tabs I5, straps I8 may be secured at the outer stay sections I4, which straps carry, upon their ends, buckles I1 to receive the ends of cooperating l straps Il secured to the front section I2.

The front section, as shown more particularly in Fig. 4, comprises acentra-l panel I9, which,

as will be noted from Fig. 1, is adapted to extend over the abdominal portion of the body from a point adjacent the pubic bone to the lower end of the sternum, and will preferably overlap slightly upon the sternum. This panel I9 has a central stay or stiiIened section in which are mounted the stiffening members 20, 2I and 22. It will be noted that the central bone or stiftening member 20 is substantially longer than the rest to reach over the principal portion of the abdomen, and the sections 2| and 22, being discontinuous with the section 20, will permit the upper and lower portions of this section of the garment to accommodate itself to changes in the body from standing to sitting positions; that is, the panel may bend slightly at the upper and lower ends y kwill be referred to hereinafter.

Secured to eachl of the side stay sections of the 5 of the abdomen, with adjustment, as shown, for

varying developments and conditions of the rib basket portion of the body. It will, of course, be understood that each of the tabs I5 on thegrear panel I3 cooperates with the corresponding tabs on the front panel to conne these corresponding portions of the body at the back thereof, the central back tab, for example, coveringthe area between the ribs and hip bones at the back.

In connection with'the above explanation, it

will be understood that, as the straps I8 ,are

stitched to thetabs 26, 21 and 28, and as likewise the straps I6 at the back of the garment are stitched to the corresponding tabs, the pull upon these straps ,will likewisev place tension upon the tabs to properly conne and place pressure upon l'the' parts of the body where this pressure is essential, particularly where the bony structure of the skeleton is absent, as illustrated. It may also be noted that the joints between thestiffenjoints between the stiiening vmembers in the side sections. 'Ihis permits the central straps I8 to *pull upon the central section of the garment, and

from; panel Mesem-,ral tabs and upper and a0 permits greater freedom of adjustment of the lower tabs 21 and 28, respectively, the three straps I8 being drawn substantially across the central portions of these tabs and` stitched thereto, as shown at 29. The upper tab 21 is of a width,

central tabs 26 with respect to the upper and lower tabs 21 and 28. The staggered or jointed :bone construction of the front panel likewise permits this panel to adjust itself adjacent its upper adjacent the edge of the panel'. Substantially 35 and lower portions to the standing and seated equal to that of the stiilening member 24, and likewise the width of the lower tab is similarly related to the length 4of the stiffening member 23, these tabs'tapering outwardly 'away from the panel. It will be noted that the upper and lower straps'I are secured to the edge stay sectionsof the panel I9 s o that the pull upon thesel straps is borne by the stay sections adjacent the'interiznediate parts of the stiifening members 23 and The central tab 26 is positioned substantially at the central portion of the panel I8 as respects its upper and lower edges, and is of suflicient width adjacent the side edges of the panel to overlap the adjacent edges of the tabs 21 and 28,

as illustrated. The center straps I8, which are associated with the tabs 23, arestitched to these tabs in line with the space between the stiffening members 23 and 24, so that the strain upon these straps is borne by the central stay section which carries the stifenng member 20.

It will be noted that the central tabs 26 extend over the area between the ribs at the upper side and the hip bones at the lower side, so as to distribute the pull upon these tabs over the area between the ribs and the hipbones at the side and front. Thus it will be seen that the front panel, together with the central tabs, will protect and support substantially all of the part of the body unprotected by the bony structure at the front and sides of the wearer of the garment.

The lower tabs on the front and back sections ofthe garment pass about the hip portion of the wearer, and the, adjustment permitted in the eiective length of the straps I8 by the buckles will permit adjustment tovarious types of hip development or prominence of hip bones, and will also give support at'the front of the garment o the body .at some points.

positions of the wearer without interfering essentially with the confining action ofl the garment.

While it is necessary to give relatively firm o support to the portions of the body, it is also instance is in the formof an inflatable bladder 32. This bladder may be placed on the back of the front panel and held in position by beingv confinedY in a pocket between the latter and a i piece of fabric 33 stitched at its edges 34 to the The member 33 may be of inelastic or elastic' fabric, and if the latter, may be of two-way stretch material, so that it will stretch over its entire surface in both directions to permit the inflation It is desirable to have the pressure placed upon the body controlled to some extent, and also to have the bladder so constructed that a sudden pressure upon one area thereof will not quickly o5 force the air intoanother area and thus create a bulbous shape or condition. It is also desirable that the bladder be ofl greater depth or thickness between its walls at one area than another in order to provide a greater cushion of air over For example, the abdominal section will require a greater bladder depth and larger air cushion than the upper portion which overlies the ribs and sternum.

In order to eect this' result we have illusto the lower abdominal area from the pubic bone trated a bladder of the shape shown more espe- The bladder may be formed of any suitable material, such as rubber.

cially in Figs. 3, 6 and '7, which is divided into a lower abdominal portion 35 and an upper portion 36. The lower portion 35 has a neck 31 extending upwardly between the right and left lobes of the upper portion 36, as shown more especially in Fig. 6. The two parts of the bladder are separated by a partition 38 substantially of U-shaped form in cross section, as shown more especially in Fig. 7, this partition limiting the separation between the upper and lower walls of the bladder at that point, as shown more especially in Fig. 3, and prevents communication between the parts 35 and 36 of the bladder except that permitted by the filler tube 39, which passes across the partition 38 and communicates with the lower bladder section 35, and which tube is provided with an opening 4D to admit air to the upper bladder portion 36. It will be seen, therefore, that when air is blown into the ller tube 39 it will enter both upper and lower portions of the bladder and place both portions normally under equal pressure.4 When, however, pressure is applied locally to one portion or the other of the bladder, the small communicating port 40 will not permit the air to pass rapidly from one portion to another. It is also desirable to control the local distention of the bladder due to sudden pressure at one point to prevent the latter bulbing out at another point. For example, the portion 35 of the bladder covers a substantial area, and pressure upon one part might force the air suddenly into another part, thus abnormally extending the latter. We have, therefore, placed limiting members in each section of the bladder to serve to prevent undue separation of the walls thereof. As shown in Figs. 6 and 8, two of these limiting members 4| are placed in the lower portion 35 of the bladder, although the number thereof may be varied as desired. These members are of openended rectangular shape in cross section, as shown in Fig. 8, having upper and lower walls 42 and 43 secured flatly against the upper and lower walls of the bladder, respectively, and side walls 44 connecting the upper and lower walls. When the bladder is collapsed, the side walls are adapted to fold inwardly, as shown in Fig. 8, so that the bladder will lie ilat. When the bladder is inflated, however, these walls will be distended but will serve to limit the distention of the bladder, particularly in any one place. As these members are open at their ends, they will, of course, communicate with the interior of the bladder and be filled with air.

A similar limiting member 45 is placed in the left-hand upper portion 3B of the bladder, while another member 4 6 is placed in the right-hand portion. From Fig. 3 it will be observed that the upper portion of the bladder is not permitted to expand to the same extent as the lower portion 35, this portion of the bladder being held by the limiting members 45 and 46 to a lesser depth or thickness, thus creating a shelf between the two bladder portions. The upper left-hand edge of the lower bladder portion 35 is designed to lie below and under the heart section of the body, substantially following the line of the ribs, while the upper right-hand edge of the lower bladder portion may be slightly lower than the left-hand section, so as to provide a shelf-like support for the liver.

The lower portion 35 of the bladder is designed to cushion the strains upon the principal portion of the abdominal section. It may be inflated to the desired point so that the necessary pressure will be exerted upon the body to prevent pressure over the principal portion of the abdominal section and forming a shelf-like area` at the lower border of the ribs.

While we have shown and described a preferred embodiment of our invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. A protective belt or a garment designed to encircle the body and having a front section, a bladder disposed at the inner surface of the front section to lie between it and the body of n the wearer, means to limit the separation of the thereof and thus providing for an abrupt shelflike area between the upper and lower portions of the bladder.

2. A protective belt or garment designed to encircle the body and having a front section adapted to cover the abdomen of the wearer, cushioning means carried at the inner surface of the front section and extending over a substantial portion of said surface, said means comprising upper lobe portions and a lower lni'latablebladder portion, and there being an abrupt shelf-like area between said portions when the bladder is inilated, said bladder having an upwardly extending inflatable neck portion disposed between said lobe portions.

IRVING R. VERSOY. LESTER H. LOEFFEL. 

